71 comments:

I said to my bride @ the outset of this political reality show that this was as calculating as a con man working an old woman out of her savings. I can't believe anybody in the MSM hasn't expressed this. Oh wait...never mind.

Let's go one step further: yes, it was planned, and the real reason was not only to open the door to money from a group that had cut him off -- it was (more importantly) to distract us from the floundering economy.

Mitchell, Great line w/ Fredo. But, do you think Joe is also "banging cocktail waitresses two @ a time." I always referred to Ted Kennedy as Fredo.

When an "evolution" or ephiphany occur in an election year it's horseshit. There have been genuine evolutions, Truman and black soldiers comes to mind. But the true "evolutions" are when a pol has to expend political capital to get something done, not when it's an election year and done for $$$. This is pretty basic stuff.

Which ever way it happened it's not good for the president. It didn't change his hard line voters opinions, and it alienated a lot of people who don't believe in same sex marriage. You do have to admire Joe Cool from college's use of a sports analogy. Always cool.Biden's a gaffe machine, so it's damage control 24/7 in the administration. Sort of like the bimbo eruption team.

If it was planned, Carney would've had a better response for Tapper. Occam's Razor this people: Biden said what he believed, which was inconvenient. Sort of like when he said one of the ads about McCain that the Obama team put out was deplorable and dirty. Biden is a good guy, who just happens to be wrong a lot.

Obviously I disagree with Wyo Sys in that in my view there are many "independent" voters who have been moving to Romney for his economic expertise but are socially liberal. Now Obama has actually demonstrated some acumen.

So Romney is the type of guy who will hire an openly gay man for his abilities and knowledge in foreign affairs, but doesn't think that gay man deserves to be treated equally as a full fledged human being. How sad.

This pure Chicago politics and nothing more. They send in the clown Biden as the loose cannon hoping we forget Obama chose him to be VP. Classic good cop/bad cop. Obama then comes in to clean up a mess he created to never let a crisis, manufactured or otherwise, go to waste. These elites have absolutely no respect for our country's citizens. Machiavelli would be proud!

If it was planned, Carney would've had a better response for Tapper. Occam's Razor this people: Biden said what he believed, which was inconvenient

I've been beating this drum since yesterday. Carney was entirely too flustered from taking incredulous questions from a usually friendly WH press corps. Tapper wasn't the only one hitting him. Besides, if you look at the entire timeline of events in this fracas, it simply doesn't add up to "planned".

If that were the case, why would they schedule a speech in NC on their election night and then cancel it five hours later? That doesn't add anything to melange of this issue other than seeming incompetence. It was scheduled, someone noticed the anti-SSM thing was polling very heavily in favor of anti, and they pulled it.

Was there as single, citable reference that Obama was going to announce his "evolution" at the convention prior to Biden's open-mouth-insert-foot last weekend?

"He probably got out a little bit over his skis, but out of generosity of spirit."

By the by, does this single quote from a black president crush any hope they have to make the "Romney's out of touch" stick? First of all, skiing is very expensive. Even most white people don't know a lot of people that ski enough to drop it as a casual reference like that, let alone blacks.

For me, I thought it looked like Obama was forced into the position and was upstaged by Biden.

On the other hand, it COULD be planned, both in a calculated way to get money and not lose votes (who else will the black block vote for?), but it also creates a trap for social cons by baiting them to accuse Obama of 'teh ghey' and keeping the topic off of the economy.

Mr. Waffles speaks about what he would "probably do". I'm certain that Sloe Joe's comment this weekend, along withi Sec. Ed Arne Duncan's similar statements were trial balloons by the Obama Campaign Team. Axelrod and Plouffe looked at the reaction and decided that it was "probably" safe for The Bamster to go outside and play.

It's quite possible to be Machiavellian in an inept, clumsy way. It is also quite possible to have a clumsy, inept move described by the media as brave and graceful.....In any event, Biden will now have an inside story to tell in his memoirs which should boost sales enormously. I look forward to reading it in the near future.....If Obama and Biden should suffer defeat, you can bet it will be narrated as due to their brave, uncompromising stand on gay rights--which, in point of fact, is just as contradictory and confused as their stance on Gitmo.

".. By the way, does anyone think this was all planned, that Biden was sent out to make what would appear to be a gaffe to create the occasion for Obama to seem to need to come forward on this issue?.."

That's rather pathetic don't you think? Trot out the VP to test the political water to see if its safe for Obama to wade in? Is Biden the dorky fat kid in the group that everyone says 'here try this' to see if its safe?

As a person with at least 12.5 genetic points of French heritage, I'm offended by the fact that the language of my ancient familial culture is the default language for describing political dishonesty and incompetence.

This seems very strange. Has Obama just thrown the election? Is it all about fund raising?

Would the Democrats prefer not to be in charge for the next 4 years? Better to be a victim of the dumb-ass majority than to rule? Do they think the Republicans will save the golden goose, so they can extract more spoils NEXT time around?

Obama has just thrown raw meat into both cages. I think the right will mostly remain cool. But, I dread what we will hear from the left over the next months: I think they will drive the final nails into the coffin.

"According to their account, Romney mocked the student’s long blond hair, recalling that he once said, “He can’t look like that. That’s wrong. Just look at him!” before joining classmates in chasing him, pinning him to the ground and cutting his hair as Lauber screamed for help."

"According to their account, Romney mocked the student’s long blond hair, recalling that he once said, “He can’t look like that. That’s wrong. Just look at him!” before joining classmates in chasing him, pinning him to the ground and cutting his hair as Lauber screamed for help."

Ah, the tolerance of the GOP...

OH NO! Next the wedgie expose and then the awful truth about the swirlie's. It's just too awful!!

It's fascinating that virtually no one has noted the significance of putting Amendment 1 on the NC primary ballot instead of holding the referendum in November. Let’s connect those dots!

Republicans doubtless knew the amendment would draw out black voters, and when Obama only won NC by a margin of 14,000, they might have been a pivotal demographic 6 months from now.

The timing of Obama’s announcement is the flip side of that political coin. He couldn’t possibly come out in favor of gay marriage before primary election day, because it would turn a vote for Amendment 1 into a de facto black vote against Obama. Imagine jumpstarting the Republican spin machine on that story. Even worse, imagine the potential psychological effect of that association on black constituents, who would find themselves essentially, fundamentally, rejecting a black Democratic President. If Obama almost literally ran away on the eve of the vote, I suspect it's because his political team suddenly saw the writing on that wall.

Romney won't be picking up the black vote, of course, but Amendment 1 was still a win/win for Republicans. They managed to put the marriage issue into play, without forcing Romney to make it a plank in the his platform, and, with Joe Biden's help, they backed the Prez, personally, into a most unwelcome corner. Proponents of gay marriage may be welcoming his modified, limited, hang out, but they are also asking where he was when they really needed him. The fact that he took a position on the very heels of their defeat has got to have hurt.

Regenerating the 2008 enthusiasm for Obama just got a lot harder in NC. -- among his own core supporters.

@ Yashu -- Romney could have said nothing at all, or if asked said he believed ultimately that states should decide. That's an evolved and compassionate Republican position, the one that many Republicans share.

Instead he jumps right in and loses the focus on the economy which is his strong point, supposedly. He's just flat out against gay marriage under any circumstances, even if the majority of a state decides they are in favor. Is he really that insecure about his Republican "base" that he sacrifices the independent voters who tend toward fiscal conservatism and social liberalism? I guess so.

Maybe it was planned (hence those reports that Biden has been rehearsing his lines for a bit), but Biden just screwed up and let it out early? Or did it on purpose, to make Obama's team sweat a bit and remember they need to show proper respect.

At first I didn't think Biden's "gaffe" was planned, but I just noticed CNN's top of the hour headlining story was "White House staff increasingly miffed by Biden's faux pas" (not an exact quote, I wasn't taking notes). I now think the "replace Biden on the ticket" groundwork is being laid, with Biden's knowing or unknowing cooperation.

I now think the "replace Biden on the ticket" groundwork is being laid, with Biden's knowing or unknowing cooperation.

I still think it wasn't planned, but as to the VP slot, picking the right replacement, along with a gracious stepping aside by Biden, would be a base energizer. First instinct is Hillary, obviously, because of the narrative it builds. Regardless, I think you can count on it being a woman if it happens. On the other hand, he could follow form and decide he's the' best person for the VP and run as a solo double-ticket.